Increased parking pass rates to pay for new roads

Students at Colorado State University-Pueblo saw their parking permit rates go up this year, and the extra $80,000 expected to be raised from those permits will go toward paying for new roads and other improvement projects on campus. File photo.

Katie England

Students at Colorado State University-Pueblo saw their parking permit rates go up this year, and the extra $80,000 expected to be raised from those permits will go toward paying for new roads and other improvement projects on campus.

“Rates went up because we need to address the continuing issue of parking lot maintenance and to build the reserve to take on projects in the future,” said Marty Hanifin, vice president for Finance and Administration at CSU-Pueblo.

Last year, the total revenue earned from parking permits was $350,000, and the estimated revenue for this year is $430,000, according to Christopher Fendrich, interim director of Auxiliary Services.

It’s an estimate, because total revenue for this year, depends on how many people buy parking permits and get traffic violations during the remainder of the year, Hanifin said.

So far this year, parking permit revenue is up by $57,000 from what had been collected at this time last year, Hanifin said, even with the decrease in student enrollment.

All revenue from the parking permits goes into the Parking and Transportation Fund, Hanifin said, which also receives the revenue from traffic tickets and football parking.

The money in the fund is used for everyday repairs in the parking lots, such as painting lines, and for resurfacing the roads on campus, Hanifin said, while the money not being used right away is saved for projects in the future.

One project which will be a direct result of the higher parking fees is a new road to complete the loop around campus, which would make navigating campus easier and safer, according to Hanifin.

The new road will be located on the east side of the recreation field, and an estimate of the cost is $800,000 to $1 million. Fendrich expects the road to be completed in the next four years.

Another use for any extra money is new signage in all the parking lots.

“We would like to improve the signage in the lots to clearly communicate to drivers the different lots and uses of the different colors of lines,” Hanifin said.

The new signs may also include new names for each parking lot, names that would be unique to the university, Hanifin said.

Another project being considered would make visitor parking easier by allowing campus visitors to purchase permits from meters to put on their dash rather than running inside buildings to get visitor permits, then having to take them back out to their car, Hanifin said.

In fall 2012, a decal parking sticker was $75, while a hangtag was $100. Both were good for one year, and the hangtag was transferable from vehicle to vehicle, but the decal was not.

In fall 2013, the decal was discontinued and the hangtag was made the only available parking permit for students to purchase, other than motorcycle permits and fuel-efficient vehicle permits. Last year, 1,560 of the decals were sold.

The decision to discontinue the decals was made by the Parking Advisory Committee, which consisted of representatives from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Auxiliary Services and Associated Students’ Government.

The student representatives were favorable to the raise in parking fees, Hanifin said, because the hangtags are transferable and some students do not like something as permanent as a decal on their cars.